NASA engineer shared passion for space with isle students

Christopher Davis built beautiful skylights in his Florida home so he could always see the stars, and he had glitter in the stucco on his ceilings, his sister, Karen Pearson, said.

"He was a child of the universe," she reflected. "He just loved life, and I think he left us too early."

Davis, a 1973 Damien Memorial School graduate who became a prominent NASA engineer, died March 21 at his home in Merritt Island, Fla. He was 56.

"We think he collapsed, and we don’t know all the details," his sister said. "We’re still waiting."

Davis was a "highly regarded, brilliant NASA engineer," Pearson said. He worked as a senior project manager with NASA’s space shuttle program and helped investigate the 2003 explosion of the shuttle Columbia. His work earned him NASA’s Space Flight Awareness Award. Later he worked in NASA’s Materials Science Division, dealing with failure analysis.

"I think the thing that impresses me about my brother most is he loved to give back, and so he loved speaking with the students" about his job, Pearson said.

Davis frequently returned to Hawaii to talk to students at Damien, St. Andrew’s Priory and St. Francis School about careers in space engineering. In 2006 he brought with him a full Apollo spacesuit, including the helmet, and left a piece of space shuttle tile with Damien administrators.

Damien President Bernard Ho said Davis "was an inspiration, and one of those alumni that we always knew had so much passion and aloha for the school that taught him and gave him a lot of good basics before his career."

Davis moved to Hawaii with his mother and siblings in 1966 after his parents divorced, his sister said. He was involved in judo, played the trombone and loved hiking with his brothers in the back of Moana­lua Valley, she said.

Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Hawaii-Manoa in 1983 after also attending Gonzaga University and the University of Washington, Pearson said.

"His dream was to work at NASA, and he loved math," she said. "Once he got a degree, he got picked up by Boeing and worked for NASA and never looked back."

Davis later earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Central Florida and was studying and taking rigorous exams to become a software engineer when he died, his sister said. As NASA was downsizing, he was excited to be planning the next step in his life, which was likely to include retirement in Hawaii, she said.

"He was always looking to come back to Hawaii," she said. "He never forgot his roots."

Pearson said her brother’s home in Florida, where he lived for more than 20 years, was an homage to his home state of Hawaii.

"It’s like a tropical paradise," she said. "Every wall, every piece of whatever has some touch of Hawaii. … I am amazed at what he’s done here in his gardens and his home."

Pearson said Davis was very active and had a passion for life. He surfed, skied and loved to travel in Europe, especially Switzerland.

"He was always a little bit different because he was always inquisitive," she said. "He was just a fascinating human being."

Davis is survived by mother Dana Sharon, stepfather Amiel Sharon, Pearson and brothers Marc and Matthew.

Pearson said a memorial service and scattering of ashes will be held in Hawaii at a date to be determined.